Things I Miss Because of Covid-19

There are a lot of funny Covid-19 posts going around right now—finding a way to laugh about sheltering at home makes us feel better about what a crappy situation we’re all in.

We’re all bored and stuck at home, and have nothing better to do with our time than fill out a list on Facebook of things we hate, different names we go by, or what quarantine house we want to live in.

But one post stuck out more than the others as I was scrolling through one day: it was a list of things she missed.

What struck me is that it’s okay to say this sucks. We’re all in the same storm, but we’re not in the same boat.

(Analogy time) Some boats are treading lightly—life preservers are on, families are together, and even though they’re getting rained on, they’re kinda enjoying the reprieve from every day life. Other boats are taking on a little bit of water. Not so much that they’re about to capsize, but enough that it’s uncomfortable. Then there are some boats with holes around it and they are sinking faster than they can get water out; their lifejackets were already thin to begin with, and they’re even starting to give out.

Same storm; different boats. And even for those in the perfect boat…they’re still in the middle of a storm.

I’m done with that analogy now, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone understands that it’s sucking for everyone.

With that said: I wanted write a post about everything I’m missing right now, because next year I want to come back and read it, and remember.

I just pray to God that things will be different a year from now.

Things I’m Missing Since Sheltering in Place

In absolutely no particular order, I miss…

All the things.

• I miss waking up in the morning and feeling optimistic or happy about my day.
• I miss the normalcy of our routine. We had such a good morning routine, even on the stressed-out mornings. Now it’s like the most depressing spring break that will never end.
• I miss seeing my daughter smile as she saw me after school at pick up. She’d skip or run over to me, then wrap me in a hug. She did that every. single. time. I miss it something fierce.
• I miss the one-on-one time I had with her in between getting the other two from their school, and how we’d sometimes share a coffee cake from Starbucks together.
• I miss picking my son up from school and having drop whatever he was playing with, and hearing him yell, “MAMA’S HERE!” when he spotted me.
• I miss coffee shop hopping after I dropped them off, and then getting lost in writing.
• I miss drinking damn good cups of coffee at local places, and eavesdropping on the conversations around me.
• I miss being around other adults.
• I miss giving my mom a hug.
• I miss letting my kids hug their grandparents.
• I miss going over to my mom’s house, just because, and letting the kids play there.
• I miss having my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew all over at our house to play and hang out.
• I miss not giving my uncle a kiss on the cheek—literally the first time I’ve ever not done that before.
• I miss letting the kids play inside Chick-fil-A, and yelling at them to get back inside the play place.
• I miss going to Target for literally one thing, and spending at least 30 minutes looking at everything.
• I miss meeting my mom for lunch at La Salita or Papa Felipe’s Restaurant.
• I miss that there were things we didn’t get to do in Albuquerque: go on a balloon ride (we were waiting for my husband to come home); ride the tram (we were waiting for the spring when the sunset would be earlier); and go to an Isotopes game.
• I miss my friends in California; we were going there for Spring Break to see them one more time before we move overseas.
• I miss the fact that my kids just see me angry, upset, and sad more often than not. This was supposed to be a happy time, and instead it’s just depressing.
• I miss my kids’ teachers. They’re so special, and truly have a gift for teaching little kids. I just feel like I’m failing them all the time.
• I miss driving and sitting in traffic. Whatever time you go out now it looks like a Sunday morning. Things are closed, and hardly anyone is out.
• I miss grocery shopping. I loved shopping inside stores, even with all my kids. Now when I go I have anxiety and panic attacks after that leave me tense and exhausted after.
• I miss letting my kids play at playgrounds. Telling them no when it’s literally in front of their face is really hard.
• I miss a world where we didn’t walk around with masks or give someone the side eye when you hear them clear their throat.
• I miss making actual plans for the future.

I miss, I miss, I miss. I miss all the things, and I’m curious what life really will be like a year from now.

Will this—or some form of it—be our new normal? Or will a vaccine come out sooner than later and we can all breathe again without fear of spreading this thing?

What do you miss?

Whether it’s one thing or 100, I encourage you to share it or at the very least write them down somewhere.